


Right round

by RKG



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-05 05:42:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14610705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RKG/pseuds/RKG
Summary: After being beaten senseless by the ghoulies, Jughead's memory is all turned around.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry buggies, this is a Jeronica-centered fic. :/ If you don't like that, then there are other fics out there. Also, he's got possible multiple head injuries and a lot of blood loss right now so there's a reason he ain't all there folks, also this is my first Riverdale fanfiction so if anything sounds off--that's why. :P

After their home at the Pembrooke had been invaded, Veronica had fled.

Curfew or not, she didn't care if she got caught by the police, a police squad car was probably the safest place she could be, what with not only Black Hood on the loose, but full-on war between the Ghoulies and Serpents brewing. She thought about running all the way back to her Abuelita's house in NYC, but she doubted her legs could carry her that far. Right now all she wanted to do was hide in the last place anyone would look, she also wanted to find Archie.. just where on earth was he? He wasn't answering his phone, several texts had gone unread, but then maybe something had come up with his Dad. 

No, knowing Archie he had gone looking for the Black Hood himself and she had to find him before he did something phenomenally stupid. As much as she loved Archie, she was entirely over him throwing caution to the wind when it came to potentially dangerous situations. She was so tired of danger, so tired of knowing things that should never be known, like just how one of her classmates looked all carved up on the auditorium stage. That was one image that wasn't leaving her mind anytime soon. Poor Midge, she hadn't done anything wrong. She wondered just when it would end. 

Suddenly she tripped over something. 

"What was--"

She gasped at the sight of a bloodied serpent jacket and wild black hair. Jughead Jones was face down on the ground, groaning softly.

"Jughead!"

He was babbling something incoherently.

"Hey Jug, don't talk... it's okay." she said softly, kneeling beside him.

~*~*~*~

" _Shhhh, don't talk, it's okay_."

This mortal coil was hanging by a thread for Jughead. That's why he was especially glad when he was greeted by his very own dark-haired angel who'd come to see him into the Afterlife. He hadn't really believed before, but then again he'd never had reason to. 

The pretty dark-haired angel was kneeling beside him, he moved forward to rest his head on her lap... yes, that was it. And that's exactly how he would step into the afterlife, with his head on a pretty girl's lap.

Wait, did gang members even get to go to heaven? He'd have to ask Fangs on the way.

"I-I've been bad..."

"No, no Juggie, not bad." she assured him. "It's not as bad as you think."

He whimpered. He could smell the perfume on her clothes, it was oddly familiar, but at the same time... it didn't matter, he was dying anyway.

"Where's your phone, Jug?"

"D-Don't kn-know..."

She managed to find it, still in his back pocket. The last person he had called was Betty.

" _God, Betty's going to flip out_." thought Veronica, hoping that her friend didn't have a full-on nervous breakdown upon seeing Jug like this. She searched in his phone until she found a contact she recognized "Dad". She pressed it.

Almost instantly, FP picked up.

" _Jug, where are you_?!" cried a worried voice over the phone.

"Um, Mr. Jones, this is Veronica, I found Jug... he's... he's not looking good." Her voice broke, it shouldn't be her having to tell a Father that his son was possibly dying in her arms. " _Where the hell is the new Sheriff_?!" she thought miserably.

" _Where is he, Veronica_?!"

"Th-The edge of town, by the woods." she explained. 

" _I'm on my way_!"

"Don't die, Jug... please?" she begged, stroking his hair. She tried to dial 911 but the signal was jammed.

"How can 911 not be in service?!" she cried, banging her hand against the phone.

" _Why would an angel need to dial 911_?" he thought lazily. Maybe she wasn't quite an angel... at least not in the heavenly form. Wait, who was this again? Maybe she was his girlfriend.. she seemed awfully upset over him... yes, that was it. She was his girlfriend. Funny, he didn't remember her from previously, he didn't remember much of anything from previously except Penny Peabody's voice and an ocean of pain. He knew his name was Jughead Jones, and his Dad's name was FP, and he was a Serpent, and his best friend was Archie Andrews and that he went to Riverdale High... there was other pertinent information that he knew he knew. Somewhere, deep down inside... maybe he would remember it all in the afterlife.

Speaking of the afterlife, the world got blurry, and dark. 

"Nnngh..." he whimpered, reaching for her.

She held his hand and started reciting the Our Father in spanish, Jughead smiled... maybe she was an angel after all.


	2. Goodbye, Jughead.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Jughead be the same person when he wakes up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, boyo has a head injury. I'm going to break someone's heart with this and I'm sorry in advance, but I'm not sorry for the potential Jeronica that will ensue! Also, gang member or not, Fangs was technically still a child, as was Midge. So is Jughead. I'd like to think that children get a free pass in the afterlife. :P

Hospital ER's were never pleasant, fortunately Veronica hadn't frequented them too many times in her life, but watching someone her own age be taken away by a bunch of people in lab coats was terrifying. She had meant to go home after seeing FP off, but a heartbroken scream had made her stay.

Betty.

"I'm so sorry Betty." she soothed, hugging her friend and letting her sob on her shoulder.

"W-Why...?" was the only thing Betty could really vocalize at the moment. Veronica had no answers for her. 

"I'd like to know that too." growled FP. "What the hell was he doing out there?! We'd already put this thing to a vote! Did he tell you anything Betty?!"

"J-Just that h-he loved me... he would always love me..." sobbed Betty brokenly.

FP snorted and sat down, running his hand through his hair.

Toni broke in, Veronica hadn't realized when she had show up but she was glad she was there. "I... I think it had something to do with our beef with the ghoulies, FP." she 

"The deal was done!"

"I guess he thought he could do you one better." said Toni sadly. "He rescued me from Penny, I told him he didn't have to. I told him to tell her to go to hell. I didn't mind earning my stripes, but he went and played Hero anyway."

FP shook his head. "God... what the fuck!" he growled, kicking out at a nearby chair.

Archie and Fred rounded the corner, both looking worried. Veronica hugged Betty one last time and stood up, hands on hips. Maybe it was providence that she had been out searching for Archie when she found Jughead, but that didn't mean Archie was off the hook by any means.

"Veronica!" he cried.

"Archie." she said cooly. 

Archie moved forward and hugged her, she hugged back tentatively, this wouldn't be fixed with just a hug, not by a long shot.

"I was worried about you." she said icily.

"I know, Ronnie, I'm sorry. I-It's just... this night... everything is so messed up."

"Really." her arms were crossed. She was angry at him, he knew that much. "You couldn't have called me, or texted?"

It was just then that Archie checked his phone. "Oh God... Ronnie..."

She couldn't believe he could be that absent-minded, she turned away from him. He stepped in front of her.

"Look, can we not do this now? At the hospital? I promise, as soon as we know Jughead's okay you can let me have it, but until then--"

Suddenly the doctor came into view, everyone looked up, waiting with baited breath.

"Mr. Jones?"

"How is my son?" asked FP.

The doctor sighed. "I'm afraid it's all up to him now. He sustained a lot of injuries, a few broken ribs, multiple stab wounds, but the thing that concerns me the most is the multiple head injuries he has. It's going to be quite a road back. He may not be the same person when he wakes up."

FP sat down in a heap. 

"W-Wait, th-that c-can't be right..." sniffled Betty. "That can't be right! Y-You have to...!" 

Archie went over and put his arm around Betty's shoulders, he enveloped her in a hug as she scream-sobbed against him.

Veronica didn't really know what to do, she didn't really belong in the group of three there, they had known Jughead since birth, she hadn't. She had only known him for a year and half.

"That can be just temporary, right?" she asked, trying to give them some hope.

The doctor nodded. "With luck, yes. He's not dead, far from it, in fact. You have a strong son, Mr. Jones. He died twice on us and we were able to bring him back."

FP sat back in the chair, he seemed to recess into himself. 

"When can we see him?" asked Archie.

"Not yet." said the doctor. "We'll have to wait'll he wakes up, and then it's family only. Is his Mother still in the picture?"

"She's in Ohio." answered FP. "I'll call her."

"Yes. That would be wise. As for the rest of you, it's time you got home."

As much as they wanted to protest, they knew the doctor was right, all of them were tired and it's not like they could help Jughead. Fred and Archie volunteered to give Betty a ride home but Veronica made herself scarce, she actually didn't want to talk to Archie right now. She had her own war to wage. She found Sheriff Keller near the entrance.

"Sheriff Keller, would you drive me home?"

~*~*~*~

Sweetwater River was peaceful this time of year.

Or at least that's where he thought he was. Jug looked around, the surroundings were familiar, yet not familiar at the same time. 

He spotted someone on the bank, two people, actually, and went over to them.

"Hey... where are we?"

The boy turned around, smiled and gave him a hug.

"Hey Jug! You're here to the party early!" it was Fangs.

"Yeah we weren't expecting you for awhile." said Midge, who was carrying a picnic basket.

"Wh-What's in there?" he asked, he was a little hungry.

"All we need." said Midge, smiling. "But we gotta cross the river first."

"Cross?"

"Yeah." said Fangs. "To get to the best spot, you know."

Jughead nodded. "Oh.. oh yeah."

Something about this place was different, he had never been to this part of the river before. The air was fresher, cleaner, more tranquil, except for that strange screech-sobbing noise he kept hearing behind him.

"How did you get here?"

"Man..." said Fangs. "It was a messed up journey getting here, but it was so worth it. Come on, I'll tell you on the way."

Behind him, Jug heard his Dad's voice. "Dad!" he cried.

With a jolt, Jughead was back in his body.

Although to be honest he didn't recognize the surroundings anymore. There was no river, no Fangs or Midge, instead it was a scary hospital room and his Dad was there, but he didn't see his Mom. She should be there, where was his Mother? He hurt all over, there were tubes everywhere.

" _Am I dead_?" he thought.

"Jug... hey Jug." said his Father, eyes brimming. It looked like he had been crying. Oh, this was bad... 

"D-Dad..." Jughead managed to choke out. 

"Welcome back." 

"A-Am I dead...?" he croaked.

"No. They brought you back."

"Brought me back...?" Jughead tried to remember, something, anything from before but it made his head hurt. 

"Yeah... it's okay though... you're back."

But it wasn't okay... this place was all wrong, everything hurt and there was no river, the air was stale, and there was no pretty, dark-haired angel to guide him back.

"W-Where's Mom...?"

FP sighed. "Still in Ohio. Left her a message, she should get back to me by tonight."

Why was his Mom in Ohio? He had a feeling he should know... was Grandpa sick again? He hoped not, the last time had been bad. Oh no, if his Mother was gone, then that meant Jellybean would be distraught, and if he was in the hospital, he wouldn't be home to check for monsters under her bed. 

"T-Tell Jelly I-I'll check f-for the monsters... wh-when I get home." 

FP blinked. 

"Jellybean is with your Mom, son."

"Oh... good." he thought, relieved. 

"You get some rest now." said FP, patting his shoulder. "I'll be right back."

"A-Alright..."

FP left the room so his son wouldn't see him break down. He and Gladys hadn't been together since Jughead was 10, so the ghoulies had taken away almost a decade of his life with this beating. And Jughead had let them, simply because he didn't want his family to die.

" _Hell of a sacrifice, kid._ " thought FP miserably. It would've been admirable had it not been for the sustained brain damage and the fact that there was a chance Jughead may never fully recover from the beating he received. FP was all set to make his son Serpent leader, but he couldn't very well lead with scrambled brains, could he? 

He knew what he had to do, what the Serpents had to do, but he couldn't risk leaving Jughead alone. He wouldn't understand, especially not now.

"God damn it!" he punched the wall. He couldn't sit back and let this stand, but he also couldn't go to war right now. There was only one person on this entire earth who would understand what a hard spot he was in right now, only one person who could understand Serpent business the same way he did... so he made the only call he could think to make.

"Alice..."


	3. No Recall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is getting tired of Archie's bad boy phase... and will we truly see a glimpse of Betty's darkness?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I apologize for breaking your heart in advance. :P But I am not sorry for any impending ships.

Veronica surveyed the damage on television, Riverdale looked like a bomb had gone off. The name of that bomb being Hiram Lodge and his ploy for power. She hated this. All she had wanted to do was be a normal, high school girl for once. She didn't want to think about her Dad, or even her Mom, or anything to do with "The Family Life", she had wanted a normal high school existence, with friends and maybe a dog... but the Pembrooke didn't allow them so she had to live vicariously through Archie for that one.

But her parents couldn't leave well enough alone. She had thought when she and her Mom came to Riverdale, that it was for a brand new start, but nothing was ever brand new, it was always the same... she would always be some sort of Mafia Princess, she would always have to worry about whether or not she'd be killed in her sleep to settle someone's nasty vendetta. She would always have to worry about the day when she got the call that her Father had probably been slaughtered by one of his enemies in one of the most terrifying ways possible. There would always be Small Frys lurking in the shadows, she would always have to know where all the guns were kept and how much ammo was needed to take out a potential assassin, she would never know a house without a built-in panic room.

Veronica laid on her bed and sobbed.

She hated this life, hated _her_ life. She wondered if it was a sin to pray that she wouldn't wake up. Certainly God wouldn't forbid her those thoughts, because there was no way out of this life other than death. For a brief second, she envied Midge and Fangs, they didn't have to worry about such things anymore. Then the image of what had happened to Midge came to her mind and the tears began anew... no one should have to go out like that. Even if the ultimate reward awaited them, it was still horrific. Speaking of horrific, she wondered how Jughead was. She had never been a stranger to mob violence, but she had seen extras on The Walking Dead look better than Jug had. What made her feel even worse was that ultimately, her Dad had been the cause of that too...

There was no escape.

Veronica cried herself to sleep.

~*~*~*~

It was two days later when an instagram post came from Riverdale General, it was a picture of green jello along with the caption " _Thanks, I hate it_."

Archie winced in sympathy. So far, only family had been allowed to see Jughead. The doctor didn't want to "confuse" him, Archie wasn't sure what they meant by that but he wished he could go visit Jug and at least bring him something from Pop's. So he called FP.

"Hey... Mr. Jones? Is there any way I could swing by the hospital? Get Jug something from Pop's?"

He heard FP sigh heavily. 

" _Not yet, Arch. They're waiting on the brain swelling to go down so they can run a bunch of tests. I'll try to get him something from Pop's later_."

"Alright, thanks Mr. Jones." said Archie, a bit sadly, as he hung up. He hated feeling powerless. So he texted his friend.

" _Jug, you awake_?"

The reply came a bit slower than normal, but it came. " _Yeah_..."

" _Oh good. I asked your Dad to get you something from Pop's_."

" _Tell him I want a chocolate marshmallow blast with oreos_."

Archie remembered those, but they hadn't served them for at least 10 years at Pop's.

" _Uh... dude, they stopped serving those_."

" _Since when_?!"

They actually hadn't served those since Archie and Jughead were about 11 years old... that was the last time they had had one.

" _Since we were like, 11_."

" _Well, it's news to me_!"

Archie chuckled, only Jughead would get all bent out of shape over something like this. " _Don't worry, Jug, I'll see what I can do_."

" _You better. I didn't almost die for this_."

" _I'm on it_."

Suddenly, a text from his favorite girl interrupted his thoughts.

" _Hey Archie, what're you doing_?"

" _Trying to make Jughead's dreams come true, what're you doing_?"

He could practically hear Veronica rolling her eyes. " _Only you, Archie. You want to go for a drive? I want to talk_."

Archie hoped 'talk' was code word for 'go to lover's lane and make out', because that was the only kind of talking he was up for.

" _Yeah sure, Ronnie_."

~*~*~*~

Betty presented her press pass to be allowed in to talk to Jughead. The Doctor sighed and shook his head, but let her go in anyway.

Nothing could have prepared her for the scarred-up mess that was her boyfriend, but that didn't make her any less glad to see him.

"B-Betty?" he looked genuinely bewildered to see her.

She hugged him tenderly. 

"Hey Jug..." she greeted him, her voice breaking.

Jug realized how he must look.

"I-I'm sorry Betty." he began. 

"No, no...!" she said gently. "No, it's fine..."

She was being so sweet, but then... Betty always was. It wouldn't matter if he'd been shot out of a cannon, she would always be kind to him. 

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Sore. Kind of like I've been flattened out like one of those looney tune cartoons."

Betty let go of him. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." he assured her, grinning. "All I need is one of those pumps, I'll be good as new."

Betty giggled. 

"Is it true they stopped serving chocolate marshmallow blasts at Pops?" he whined. 

Betty nodded. "Yeah... years ago. Why?"

"That makes me sad." he frowned.

"I'm sorry Jug." she said. "I can get you something else though."

"Nah... that's okay." said Jughead, to tell the truth he wasn't really in the mood for anything else, the thought of other food made him nauseous at the moment. 

"C-Can you tell me what happened?" asked Betty.

Jughead gave her the same kind of confused headtilt that Archie's dog often did. "What do you mean?"

"I mean.. what happened to you."

"Oh..." Jug seemed to be thinking hard, what had ended him up there had been a blur. "I... I remember Penny."

"Penny?"

"Yeah... she was there..." Jug narrowed his eyes in thought. He could remember her presence and her voice, but her exact words escaped him.

"Did she come to help you?"

"I don't think so..." said Jug sadly. 

Betty noticed his face cloud over, the same way it often did when he was sent to the principal's office when they were kids. 

"If you can remember anything at all, it'd be helpful... I want to help you, Jug."

Jughead grinned. "I know."

She leaned forward and kissed him gently, only to be thoroughly shocked when Jughead pulled away.

"Wait... won't Archie have something to say?"

It was Betty's turn to give him a confused look. "What?"

"I mean... you guys... you're together. You had a ceremony and everything."

It was true, they had had a 'promise' ceremony when they were 8 but that hadn't stopped Jug in the past year and a half. 

"Jug... that was years ago." corrected Betty softly.

"Not that many, right? I mean, they just recently stopped serving chocolate marshmallow blasts at Pop's."

Betty slowly realized that the past year and a half didn't exist in Jughead's mind. They were back to the status they had been as kids, which hadn't really been that close at all. She looked away.

"Right?" Jug gave her an even more confused look, which broke Betty's heart.

"I... I have to go... Jug, I'm sorry." she gave him one final hug and fled.

" _What is everybody not telling me_?" thought Jug, lying back.

~*~*~*~

Archie knew Veronica was too quiet. He had gotten to know her well enough to know that when Veronica grew calm and distant, there was a storm brewing to rival that of any hurricane.

That day, it made landfall.

The drive had pretty much gone as planned, but now, after the heat of the moment, as Veronica traced circles on his arm, she asked demurely.

"Archie... where were you the night of the riots."

"I... I was chasing after the Black Hood"

"You what?!"

"I was chasing after the Black Hood! He came after my Dad, I wasn't letting him get away this time."

Veronica sat up, mouth agape. 

"So, a psycho with a gun barges into your house and you go chasing after him unarmed?!"

"He tried to shoot my Dad again!"

"Archie, you're not superman, you can't catch bullets with your bare hands!" she said tearfully.

"Do you think I've been hanging around your Dad all these months and not taking pointers, Veronica? I know how to defend myself!"

Great... the one thing she had liked about Archie had been the fact that he was so normal. Unlike her other boyfriends before who had been sons of mobsters, Archie was nice, and normal, and could be trusted... or so she thought. She guessed it was too much to ask for a normal high school existence.

"Archie, did you not SEE what happened to Jughead?!"

"Jughead took on 30 ghoulies by _himself_ , and he's never been good at fighting. It'd just be me vs. the Black Hood, one-on-one--"

"JUST you, huh?!" she cried. "Archie, what happened to Jug is awful but what would happen to you would be that much worse! Your Dad wouldn't be carrying his son out of the woods, the cops would be rolling you out of the woods in a body bag!"

"Who's to say I couldn't handle the Black Hood?!"

"And who's to say YOU HAVE TO!!!" thundered Veronica "God, Archie, this isn't about you playing hero, for once its about laying low and staying safe! Do you think I like waking up to the thought that one day my Dad's enemies are going to come for not only him but my Mom and possibly me as well? NO! I hate that thought--"

"That's why I have to protect you, Veronica."

"I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO PROTECT ME!" Veronica couldn't help it, she was crying now. "I-I'm asking... if you love me... to stay ALIVE!"

"Of course, Ronnie, I promise--"

"Then you'll stop doing stupid things like chasing after armed men?"

"Ronnie, it's my choice and it's a risk I'm willing to take!"

Veronica stepped away from him. "Fine."

Suddenly Archie's phone buzzed.

"Aw damn it Ju--Betty? Sorry Ronnie, I gotta take this." 

Veronica crossed her arms and watched as Archie took the call, she let him do so, after all, he and Betty and Jug had known each other since childhood, it was only natural that they should be in the loop with each other concerning their friend. She could tell Betty was crying.

"Yeah... h-he was telling me he wanted a Chocolate Marshmallow Blast too... wait what?" Archie looked alarmed. "I... I'm sorry Betty. I'll be right there."

"What?" asked Veronica.

"Jughead's not remembering things right... I couldn't really understand Betty, she was crying too much. Look, Ronnie, this isn't over, but I gotta go."

"You go... see about Betty. I'll be waiting." she said cooly.

"D-Do you want me to--"

"No, I'll call for our car." said Veronica.

"A-Alright." Archie kissed her forehead unsurely before slipping on his jacket and hopping into his Dad's truck.

" _That's right.. run to Betty. She needs you, I don't_." thought Veronica as she dialed the chauffer's number.

~*~*~*~

It was heartbreaking, watching Betty grieve over his best friend.

Archie had never liked to see Betty cry, when they were kids he had done almost everything to prevent it, but right now there was no way to stop it.. all he could do was watch her sob uncontrollably.

While he held her, he did some deep thinking. There had to be a way to make the ghoulies pay for what they did to Jughead... to Betty. And he would like nothing more than to be the one to rain down fiery vengeance on their heads.

If he really set his sights high enough, he could easily be another Hiram Lodge. Maybe not with money, but with the force to keep the town he loved safe.

"Betty... don't cry, Betty! I promise I'll fix this. I-I'll do what Jug would've done if it were me! I promise!"

Betty looked up at him.

"What would you do?"

"Make the ghoulies pay."

"I'm glad we agree." said Betty, tears suddenly dry. "But there's one person I want to start with..." she said in a voice that chilled Archie to the bone, he had never heard Betty sound so cold.

"Who is that?"

" _Penny_."


	4. Call to Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica rises to the occassion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a short chapter, but I gotta let the rest of my half-baked ideas ruminate! Sorry ya'll. I promise I'll update later on in the week! ;)

It wasn't enough that her relationship with her boyfriend was on the rocks, there had to be whispers behind her back too.

"How does it feel to be Nero's daughter?" asked Ethel Muggs.

The question caught her off-guard.

Ethel rolled her eyes. "God, Veronica, maybe you need to pick up a history book sometime instead of the latest issue of Vogue. You know, Nero? The guy that fiddled while Rome burned?"

"Yes, I know, and he did have a daughter." replied Veronica.

"I guess you two would have plenty of things in common, then" snarked Ethel.

"Actually, Nero's daughter died at 3 months of age." said Veronica. "She was heralded as a goddess. If you had done last night's homework, Ethel, you'd know that."

Ethel just glared, she was quiet after that.

While she wanted to slap Ethel, her specialty was ice. Yes, the slap would probably achieve the effect she wanted but would ultimately have no effect on someone who was intent on hating her. She had learned long ago to pick her battles, besides, sometimes it was best to just ride out the storm and let everyone hate you until everything fell away, whoever mattered in the end would still be there. 

"You should tell her that Vogue declared plaid skirts last season." said Kevin.

Veronica shook her head. "Not worth it, it wouldn't matter if I came in here arm in arm with the spirit of Mother Theresa herself, Ethel would find a reason to hate me." she sighed.

"I'm gonna use a Friends quote here, "Get out of the bitter barn and come play in the hay!", Veronica, what's wrong with you?"

Suddenly, the bell rang. Veronica's curfew meant that she had to go straight home.

"It would take too long to explain." said Veronica, gathering her books.

"Ronnie, you know you can text me or facetime me anytime, right?"

Veronica nodded and smiled sadly. "I know... thanks Kevin."

On the way out of school, she saw a flyer on the board, it said simply " _Volunteer: Riverdale General. Must be 16 or older_."

Yes, her curfew started exactly after school, but as the town's new mayor, her Mother couldn't say no to an opportunity for good, free press. Right? Right. And it would get her out of the house and away from her Dad for a few hours.

On the way to the car she called her Mom. "Hey, Mom?"

~*~*~*~

This had been a brilliant idea. She liked interacting with the residents of Riverdale who didn't go to her school, a lot of the older people were actually nice to her. Then again, Veronica had always gotten along with adults. Even though the adults knew she was Hiram Lodge's daughter, they didn't seem to hold it against her. The final room she waited on for the day was 2B, near the trauma unit. She steeled herself for the worst.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sleeping serpent Prince in the room.

" _Jughead_?" she whispered, moving closer.

She hoped he was just sleeping and hadn't fallen into a coma or some other worse fate. She knew he had a head injury but didn't know to what extent, but from the dark circles under his eyes and the stitches on his face she knew it couldn't be good. He looked as tired as she felt on the inside, and it broke her heart.

" _I'm so sorry_..." she thought, not wanting to say it aloud for fear of waking him up. It was best to let a sleeping Serpent lie. Besides, if he woke up and saw anyone to do with Hiram Lodge in his room, he would've probably freaked out and called a nurse. Of course, her imagination wasn't kind to her either. Imagining the kind of things he would say to her.

" _You think 'sorry', cuts it, Veronica?! I almost died_!" she could practically hear him shouting at her.

If he hated her, she couldn't exactly blame him. This was also probably going to affect her friendship with Betty for the worse... not that it was all that strong to begin with, the title of 'best friend' didn't seem to hold much stake in Riverdale, it seemed. But right now, Veronica's family was the reason that Betty's boyfriend was fighting for his life and she felt absolutely horrible for it. She had heard of the best friend 'hating' the boyfriend but she had never heard of the best friend being the reason that the boyfriend almost died.

" _Only in mafia families_." she thought bitterly, gazing tenderly at the boy in front of her. He had a sort of wiry masculinity that she hadn't observed often. His hair did that thing that was so popular among kpop bands nowadays... what was that band's name again? Of course right now it was down in his face and driving her crazy. She couldn't help herself, she gently reached out and brushed it out of his face. She didn't count on him opening his eyes and greeting her with a lazy, "Hey, Angel."

She dropped her hand and blushed, something about the way he said it made her feel warm and tingly inside. 

"Hey Jug..." she said shyly, "How're you feeling?"

"Better..." he answered. " _Now that you're here_." he added mentally. "Where'd you come from?"

"Oh... I volunteered today." she said.

Of course she had volunteered, she was an angel, after all. 

"Can I get you anything? A magazine?"

"Do they still make mint skittles? The green kind?" he asked.

Veronica thought for a moment. "Um... I think I saw some in the vending machine."

"And... if you got any magic powers, could you get me a chocolate marshmallow blast from Pop's?"

"I'll.. try." she said.

"I know they don't make them anymore, but man... if I could have one of those, I think I'd feel a lot better."

She nodded. Certainly, having one's favorite food around while you were sick--or in this case, gravely inured--would definitely make one feel better.

"I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do, Jug." 

"Thanks." he sighed in relief, laying back on the pillow. "I wish I could figure out what everybody's not telling me."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I keep asking for Mom and no one's given me any straight answers so far, not even Dad and that's weird. It's like her and Jellybean are stuck in an alternate dimension somewhere..." he blinked. "You know... with all the stories of Black Eyed Kids and Reptile people, it could be true." 

Veronica blinked. " _I wonder what's in his IV_?" she thought.

"He keeps saying they're in Toledo... why is that so far away? I mean, we have phones and stuff."

Veronica nodded. It was strange that Mrs. Jones was nowhere to be seen.

"And... hey, do we have the channel that Deputy Dog comes on?"

Veronica giggled and went to turn on the TV.

"Aren't these things supposed to have remotes?" he looked around the bed.

"You know, they are." remarked Veronica. "Where is yours?"

"I don't know, it'd be just my luck, they'd give me a TV without a remote." he grumbled.

Veronica searched until she found a remote, it was connected to the bed by a cord. "WOW this is old school." she muttered. 

"Yeah... Riverdale General isn't exactly known for its state of the art, cutting edge technology." snarked Jughead, which made her feel relieved. There was a hint of regular old sarcastic Jughead peeking through. 

She handed him the remote. "Anything else?"

" _That's a loaded question_." he thought, grinning as he subtly checked her out. "No, th-that's all." he hadn't meant to stutter. 

"I'll be right back with your skittles." she patted his hand, he watched her go and grinned. 

" _Man, Archie's gonna be so jealous when he finds out I hit the jackpot_." he thought victoriously.


	5. Embracing the Dark Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark!Betty reappears, but this time she ain't here to play.

Betty was angry.

Even when she was a child, she had never suffered wrongdoing lightly. Once, when she was in second grade, a girl named Christina had stolen her crayons, so the next week Betty had stolen Christina's crayons and left them on the space heater in the coat room. The rainbow-colored mess had almost caused a fire-hazard, but Christina had never stolen her crayons again. In fact, the next year she had moved, Betty had secretly been glad... she didn't foresee that little rivalry ending well. 

But this went beyond some kind of petty childhood rivalry. 

Penny had damaged, possibly permanently, the love of her life. She had taken the one thing that was most important away from her, the one thing that she considered good in her life. She didn't really have a Mother she could lean on, her Dad was the Black Hood, so what did she have? Nothing now. Absolutely nothing. However... she had gotten rid of one problem, several problems in fact, just by being herself and relying on instinct. Why should this case be any different? After all, Penny could understand "An Eye for an Eye", right? Certainly she didn't expect her to take what she had been delivered lying down.

But there was too much darkness in the Cooper household, and she didn't want her family to be scrutinized anymore. It was downright embarrassing, having people constantly ask her about if there were any clues about her Dad. If she had known he was going to go that crazy, she would've turned him over to the police and the case would have been solved months ago, Midge and Dr. Masters would still be alive and she would be over this awful part of her life by now. Sadly however, that was not the cards she had been dealt. Now she had a wanted murderer for a Dad, a Mom that she couldn't relate to, and a boyfriend who's memory had been wiped of her existence as his girlfriend. She could keep crying about it, but what good would that do?

No, this was a call to action.

She would do better. She would do better than her Dad did, and she would do it with a smile on her face. Jughead had left his laptop at her house, so she took it and drove down to Pop's. Using their wifi connection she began to enter search criteria.

" _Carbon Monoxide Poisoning_."

~*~*~*~

Archie was in his garage, beating up a punching bag. He had been texting Veronica but she had been scarce lately. He didn't know if it was because her parents were making her adhere to a strict curfew, or because of the fight they had had a few days before. He didn't want to scare Veronica, he only wanted to protect her. Besides, if anything ever happened to her Dad he was pretty sure the world would declare open season on her and her Mom. Hiram Lodge was the only thing standing between his family and certain death and if one day a certain mobster decided that Hiram was too big of a rival and wanted him cut down... then who would protect Veronica? Archie at least wanted to be in the running.

He had tried texting Jughead earlier, but what he had gotten in return was a garbled, opiate-induced mess, something about an angel visiting him in the hospital that day. FP had said that his states of lucidness came and went, but they were happening more often so that was good. The doctors said that the brain swelling was going down, just a little more slowly than they had expected. Still, Archie couldn't wait to get his best friend back. But he couldn't help but wonder.. what if Jughead never came back? There was a chance that Jug would always be in this state of being perpetually 15... or was it 11? He had lived through both Jugheads once, and while they were still his best friend, they weren't the best friend he had come to know.

Mentally he began to make preparations for if Jughead never recovered. What would life look like then? Slowly re-educating his friend about everything that had happened in the past year and a half would be exhausting... and Betty, poor Betty. He didn't know how much longer she could take being separated from Jughead, not just physically, but the emotional distance between them... he could see her breaking down and it tore him apart. Betty didn't deserve this, she hadn't signed up for Jughead to be a self-sacrificing idiot, and even though Jughead had offered himself up to the ghoulies, he had never counted on anything like this happening. In fact, Archie was pretty sure Jughead hadn't planned on surviving at all. 

The punching bag went flying off it's hook and across the room, he hadn't meant to hit it that hard, but the thought of his best friend willingly sacrificing himself made him want to hunt down every ghoulie within the tri-state area. He was sure Hiram Lodge would have something to say about that, since had basically paid them to take a hit out on Jughead, but Archie no longer cared. If he played his cards right, there would be a new boss in town soon... and his name would be Andrews.

~*~*~*~

Jughead had had dreams all day, mostly unpleasant dreams, dreams of being beaten. He could hear Penny's voice in the background but couldn't hear what she saying, no, it was drowned out by laughter... Malachai's laughter. He wanted to fight back in the dreams but found himself unable to move. He watched in horror as Malachai took out a switchblade and taunted.

" _The only thing scary is what we're gonna do to your girlfriend when we find her_."

Jughead jolted awake. His girlfriend was in danger.

" _That would explain why I fought 30 guys at once_." he thought.

Slowly everything was coming back into play. He knew he had offered himself up to the Ghoulies to keep there from being war on the South Side, but he couldn't exactly remember all the mechanics as to _why_ at the moment.

" _I'll be glad when all my memories return_." he thought miserably, scrolling through his phone. He thought about texting Archie, but maybe 3AM was too late. Betty's Dad was a stickler about bedtimes and she usually turned her phone off after a certain hour. He scrolled through his contacts... some of these people's names and faces he didn't even know. Why was Cheryl Blossom's number in his phone? She hated him! And Toni's? Well he certainly had some ideas as to why Toni's number would be in his phone. He scrolled through a few more people, then saw a name he didn't recognize from anywhere.

" _Veronica Lodge_."

He clicked the contact and saw her picture.

" _So that's my angel's name_." he took in a deep breath and decided to text her.

" _Hey Angel_."

~*~*~*~ 

Veronica had awoken to the sounds of her parents fighting at 3AM, she hated it. It always made her feel like a little girl... and not in the good way. When her parents fought, all she wanted to do was cry. At least back in New York, she could go to her closet and hide, it had soundproof walls. But in Riverdale there as no such thing. Quickly, she dug out her headphones and linked them with her phone. She turned her music up as loud as it would go, even that didn't block out all the noise but it helped some. Suddenly her music was muted by a text alert.

" _If that is Archie Andrews_..." she thought, fuming.  
"  
But, no, it was Jughead.

" _Hey Angel_." it said.

She smiled, she liked this new turn of events where Jughead suddenly didn't hate her anymore. It was nice having someone outside of Betty and Archie to talk to for once.

" _Hey Jug_."

" _How are you_?" he asked, hoping the heart monitors wouldn't give anything away.

" _I could be better_." she smiled wistfully, she really didn't want him to worry. " _How are you_?"

" _Hungry_."

She had forgotten about the chocolate marshmallow blast! 

" _I'm sorry... hey, when are you getting out_?"

" _Probably this week_."

" _Hey... isn't Pop's usually open all night some nights_?" she asked.

" _Yeah why_?" came the reply.

Veronica dialed Pop's number. "Hey... Pop? I know its late, and I know you don't serve it anymore, but how do you make a chocolate, marshmallow blast?"


End file.
